The breast cancer diagnosis came when Annie Parker was 29. She had been expecting it.

The disease killed her mother, her sister and a first cousin, leaving Parker convinced that the breast cancer in her family wasn’t just a matter of chance. But she was diagnosed in 1980, long before most doctors accepted the possibility that breast cancer could be hereditary. Parker’s suspicions would later be confirmed when scientists in the 1990s identified the BRCA gene mutation she had.

“I guess much like this BRCA gene that I carry, I am going to have to say my tenacity or my stubbornness probably comes somewhere in genetics,” Parker said. “It was a gut feeling.”

Geneticist Mary-Claire King believed early on that some cancers might be hereditary, too. She spearheaded research that led to the identification of the BRCA gene mutation. A new film, “Decoding Annie Parker,” tells the story of Parker and King, portrayed respectively by Oscar-recognized actors Samantha Morton and Helen Hunt.

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“Back then I was basically told to go away, to see a psychiatrist, but in my heart and in my gut I just knew that this couldn’t be all family luck,” Parker said. “There had to be some sort of core reason why this was happening to everybody in my family. Dr. King, from the medical side, was playing the same hunches.”

What we now know, thanks in part to King and Parker: Everyone has BRCA genes, which make proteins that sup- press tumors. But either parent can pass down BRCA gene mutations — known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 — that portend a much higher cancer risk. Faulty BRCA genes are relatively rare in the overall population, accounting for about 10 percent of all breast cancers and 15 percent of all ovarian cancers, but thes understanding of BRCA mutations has become increasingly mainstream.

Earlier this year, actress Angelina Jolie wrote a column for The New York Times explaining why her BRCA gene mutation led her to get a preventative double mastectomy. Some women who find out they have a BRCA mutation without a cancer diagnosis decide to have such surgeries, while others opt for aggressive surveillance.

“In some ways ignorance is bliss, but I look back on finding out as a turning point in my life and as a blessing,” said Lisa Schlager, who was 31 when she learned in 1999 that she had a BRCA mutation. “There is a very heavy emotional and health burden if you carry this mutation, but in my mind, I was also given the gift of knowledge. That knowledge has enabled me to be more proactive with my health.”

Schlager, who lives near Washington, D.C., decided to get tested after an aunt found out she was BRCA positive and approached Schlager about considering a gene test. Though Schlager had some breast cancer in her family history, she never thought it enough to be a troubling pattern.

“Not knowing much about BRCA mutations at all, I agreed to get tested,” she said. “I, too, came back positive for the BRCA1 mutation.”

Schlager decided to do surveillance for eight years before moving forward with surgeries to remove her ovaries, fallopian tubes and breasts. At the time of her diagnosis, the field of hereditary cancer research was still brand new. Schlager didn’t know anyone confronting the same health decisions she faced. FORCE, a national non-profit devoted to fighting hereditary breast cancer and ovarian cancer, had just been founded. Today, Schlager is FORCE’s spokeswoman. She is passionate about sharing her story and connecting women with resources and with one another.

“Every woman finds her path,” Schlager said. “Ultimately, although I thought I would never do it, I did go forward with surgery. I don’t regret it, and I don’t wish I had done it earlier. I think it was the perfect path for me.”

The right path may be different — even for women in the same family. Judy Pollak, 64, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 25, around the time of Annie Parker’s diagnosis and long before the genetic links in breast cancer were understood. The Maryland optical storeowner survived her cancer and went on to have two daughters, both of whom also carry the mutation.

Pollak’s daughters, now 29 and 27, opted for different preventative measures after their BRCA tests. One chose a prophylactic mastectomy and the other chose surveillance.

“It’s very hard for me because I worry,” Pollak said. “But mothers worry no matter what. Life is not ending, it’s just a different route that you’re taking. You look at yourself and say, ‘I’ll beat this.’ And you meet these women, we are phenomenal women that are survivors, that could accomplish anything.”

Pollak didn’t find out about her faulty BRCA gene until years after her diagnosis when, in the early 1980s, she participated in a study that sought women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age.

“I had never heard the word BRCA,” Pollak said. “I always thought my breast cancer came from my mother, who at age 70 had a mastectomy, but now I know it was totally unrelated. My BRCA is from my father, not from my mother.”

Even today, science is at the “tip of the iceberg” in understanding BRCA mutations and the link to cancer, according to Deborah Armstrong, a professor of oncology, gynecology and obstetrics at Maryland’s Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and director of the hospital’s breast and ovarian genetic counseling and screening service.

“One of the biggest issues that has remained is that BRCA1 and BRCA2 only explain about half of familial breast cancers,” Armstrong said. “As the 1990s went on, (after the initial discovery of those gene mutations), we expected that we would have a BRCA3 and BRCA4 that would explain a pretty big chunk of these women at risk who had familial inheritance patterns. But we haven’t.”

Meantime, medicine is becoming more and more personalized. The idea of treatment plans tailored to a person’s unique genes is gaining popularity, especially after a Supreme Court decision earlier this year said naturally occurring genes are no longer patentable. The decision paves the way for cheaper gene testing by more companies, which makes it more important than ever for people to seek reliable information before considering a gene test.

“In terms of what’s changing over time is, first, just the uptake of testing, but also the types of tests we can do now,” said Rebecca Nagy, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. “When I first started, and even just five years ago, we really focused on one or two genes at a time. Now we can test for 20 or 30 genes at a time for the same cost as two or three genes. Technology has changed the game.”

While testing tools evolve at a break-neck pace, many women are actively working to increase awareness about testing. Doctors and cancer survivors strongly urge people considering a gene test to seek genetic counseling first. Counselors help a person determine whether a test is advisable, which test to take and what decisions she might have to make depending on results. While BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are relatively rare, those who are at risk might not necessarily realize it.

“I got my gene through my father’s father’s father. I found out in January of 2006 that the mutation was present in my family and in February of 2006 I had the first symptom (of ovarian cancer) so there wasn’t time for me to really do anything with that information,” said Carey Fitzmaurice, a 45-year-old senior policy analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., who has a BRCA gene mutation and battled both breast cancer and ovarian cancer. “That’s one of the reasons why I am determined to make people aware of this.”

Raising that awareness is one of the main goals that Parker has for “Decoding Annie Parker.” The film’s unique distribution model means it’s getting screened with partner charities around the country. Half of the revenue from each event goes back to the charities, already nearly half a million dollars, according to the film’s director Steve Bernstein.

While “Decoding Annie Parker” tells the story of Parker and the race to identify the BRCA gene, the film is ultimately about something much bigger, even though much of it is funny.

“The first three-quarters of the film are essentially a comedy,” Bernstein said. “It’s about people overcoming obstacles, the indomitable human spirit. A lot of times the audience is laughing, and at the end of the film it’s life affirming. Are there a few tears along the way? Absolutely. We’ve shown the film 20 times, and we’ve had 18 standing ovations.”

Above all, Bernstein says he set out to explore what happens to people when day-to-day comforts are stripped away in the face of real adversity. Often, he says, human beings are capable of more strength and empathy than anyone might believe possible.

“We get to the real essence of self,” Bernstein said. “Annie’s a very charming person who had to face cancer not once but has been diagnosed with cancer three separate times. This woman, who has repeatedly faced death, is someone who refuses to find death depressing. The Annie Parkers of the world believe that if they will themselves to live, they can live.”

Parker, now 62, still embodies that spirit. She recalls getting the news that she had ovarian cancer, eight years after her breast cancer diagnosis. Doctors were pessimistic.

“I was well into the third stage and almost the fourth stage, so I was told to go home and get my things in order,” Parker recalls. “Well, if somebody tells me that, I’m up for the challenge.”

Today, Parker’s health is good. And as she travels the country to screen the film, she takes the memories of her mother and sister with her.

“I have them on my shoulder at every screening, my mom sitting on one and my sister on the other,” Parker said. “This is my family story, but it’s many families’ story.”